Students shine at Jewellery Oscars

UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 08 MARCH 2023

Students, staff and alumni from Birmingham City University (BCU)’s renowned School of Jewellery picked up multiple accolades at the annual Craftsmanship & Design Awards, known as the ‘Jewellery Oscars’, on Monday (6 March) evening.

School of Jewellery

Birmingham City University

The awards, hosted by the Goldsmith Craft & Design Council (GC&DC) and held inside London’s Iconic Goldsmiths Hall, bring together the great and the good of the industry, celebrate the diverse and wide-ranging skill sets of British jewellery, goldsmithing, silversmithing and allied trades.

Birmingham City University representatives took centre stage at this year’s ‘Jewellery Oscars’, together winning four Gold Awards, three Silver Awards, four Bronze Awards and a Special Award, as they showcased their talents across the various design and making disciplines.

Yinglong Li, a current PhD researcher at the School of Jewellery and Marcus Thouchagrit a recent graduate and one of the school’s Artists In Residence (AIR), picked up Bronze and Silver Awards respectively.

I entered the enamelling category, submitting a small piece of an enamel cup, my piece which is called – Glimmer of Dawn – was made using a traditional plique- à-jour* technique.

The making process includes blending wire, soldering, applying, and melting enamels, and polishing. My supervisors and tutors at the School of Jewellery provide me with huge support not only in my PhD research and craft practice but also in encouraging me to enter the Goldsmith Awards.

It was a great experience at the amazing ceremony at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, the important opportunity to present my creation on traditional enamelling craft and to talk to so many industry professionals and get their comments and suggestion on my works was a real highlight.

Yinglong Li, PhD researcher at the BCU's School of Jewellery

BCU staff also shared in the Oscar success, Andrew Howard, Lecturer in Jewellery and Silversmithing came away with a Gold Award while Research Fellow, Dr Ann Marie Carey was part of the expert judging panel.

The success at this year’s Goldsmith Awards reinforces the BCU School of Jewellery’s international reputation and further highlights the impacts its specialist courses led by tutors with extensive industry experience have on helping students become accomplished jewellers.

Pictured top row left-right: Mingchen Hu, Lauren Murrell, Andrew Howard (Staff) and YingLong Li. Bottom row left-right: Qimeng Yang, Nga Lam, Marcus Thouchagrit